60 THE BIRDS OF SHERWOOD FOREST. 
The eggs often vary greatly in shape, and I have one 
in my collection which scarcely tapers at all, but is almost 
cylindrical, with obtusely rounded ends. I have also 
taken some which distinctly differed from the usual 
markings in having the ground colour of a clearer blue, 
while they were rather sparingly freckled with rich red- 
dish-brown spots, with here and there a more prominent 
dash, approaching the general appearance of the eggs 
of the ring ouzel. 
With regard to the seng of the blackbird, I am half 
inclined to consider it superior to that of the thrush; 
though lacking the variety and continuance of the latter, 
it has a far richer and fuller tone, its few notes being 
most exquisitely modulated, and to hear it at sunrise 
pour forth its joyous song, when perched on the extreme 
top of a high tree, is peculiarly pleasing ; it seems to be 
not merely for the amusement of its mate, but the ex- 
pression of intense happiness, a hymn of praise to the 
great Creator. 
There are few of our British birds of which we know 
so little generally as the Ring Ouzel (TZ. torquatus) ; 
it is by no means what may be called common any- 
where, and its partiality for wild and unfrequented 
localities, such as the mountain and the moor, tends still 
further to diminish our acquaintance with it. In addi- 
tion to this, its natural habits are shy and retiring, and 
excepting when it assembles for its migrations it is only 
met with in single pairs. In other parts of the country 
its visits are chiefly confined to the spring and autumn, 
though occasional instances are recorded of its breeding 
in places at variance with its natural habits. I was 
pleased to meet with a pair in the summer of 1856. 
The nest, which was very similar to a blackbird’s, was 
